Raiders Of The Lost Ark (The Kind Of Movie That Disney Should Have Been Making In The 70's And Early 80's) (Part 1)

 

In the summer of 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark arrived in theaters. With a budget of $20 million, it grossed $389 million. Critics and audiences alike embraced the film for it's action, sense of humor, it's unique take on classic serials, and Harrison Ford's iconic performance as Indiana Jones. Roger Ebert called the movie an "out of body experience, a movie of glorious imagination and breakneck speed that grabs you through a series of incredible adventures, and deposits you back in reality two hours later-breathless, dizzy, wrung-out, and with a silly grin on your face." It has spawned 3 sequels, video games, merchandise, and stunt shows at the Disney theme parks. Raiders of the Lost Ark has since been considered one of the best movies ever made, but it had a tough time getting on the screen.

Origins, Inspiration, and Development

George Lucas conceived Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1973, shortly after completing American Graffiti. Lucas, as we all know, grew up with classic serials on TV, such as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, and studied subjects such as anthropology, literature, and sociology in college. He conceived an archeologist named Indiana Smith, named after his dog (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade even made an in joke about this at the end of that movie). He temporarily put Indiana Smith on hold to work on Star Wars, which had become the most successful film ever made at that time. 

Meanwhile, Lucas discussed the idea to his friend Phillip Kaufmann (pictured here) and Kauffmann suggested the idea of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covent of course is where the supposed fragments of the actual Ten Commandments are hidden, which would provide the conflict between Indiana Smith and the Nazis. Lucas wanted Kauffman to direct, but he was already committed to the Clint Eastwood vehicle, The Outlaw Josey Wales. 

After Star Wars have come out, Lucas and his friend Steven Spielberg were vacationing in Hawaii. Spielberg expressed his desire to direct a James Bond movie, but Lucas thought something better. He explained the Indiana Smith concept and Spielberg loved the idea. However, he didn't like the name Smith and suggested Jones. Lucas agreed with the name change.

Lucas now had to find a studio that is willing to fund the project for an estimated budget of $20 million. Every studio in Hollywood have turned it down, not only because of the budget, but also because Spielberg's previous films had fallen behind schedule and over budget. It also didn't help that Spielberg's 1979 comedy, 1941, was a critical and commercial disappointment. Thankfully, Paramount had green lit the project with the help of Michael Eisner (who would later revive Disney in 1984).

Having been impressed by the screenplay of the romantic comedy Continental Divide, Spielberg hired Lawrence Kasdan to write the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg, Lucas, and Kasdan spent 3 days sketching out the plot and set pieces, and Kasdan would insert their ideas in the screenplay. Impressed with the wit and humor to the story, Lucas would later hire Kasdan to do The Empire Strikes Back.

The Casting of Indiana Jones

Lucas was initially reluctant to cast Harrison Ford, because, referring to Martin Scorsese, he didn't want Ford to be his Robert De Niro and cast him in everything he does. He wanted fresh talent such as Tim Matheson, Jeff Bridges, John Shea, and Tom Sellick (pictured on top). Sellick almost got the role, and he auditioned alongside Sean Young (who was considered for the role of Indy's girlfriend, Marion Ravenwood). But Sellick turned it down, because he was contractually obligated to do Magnum P.I. for CBS. Having seen Sellick in other films like Three Men and a Baby, In and Out, and An Innocent Man, it gives me insight that Sellick would be the wrong choice for Indiana Jones. 

Spielberg was impressed with Harrison Ford's performance in The Empire Strikes Back, and convinced Lucas to cast him. Ford agreed to the part, and it became one of Ford's most iconic roles in his career.

Filming and Special Effects

Principal photography commenced in June 1980 and concluded in September. With an estimated $20 million budget at hand, Spielberg did everything he could to stay on time and on budget. To date, this is the most storyboarded film of his career, with approximately 6,000 storyboard drawings from artists such as Michael Lloyd, and Joe Johnston. Spielberg also relied on pre-viz miniatures to set up and plan the action sequences carefully before they started shooting.

Filming took place in England for Elstree Studios, Hawaii for the opening sequence, and Tunisia was used to depict Egypt. To keep production costs down, Spielberg hired British talent, including cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, production designer Norman Reynolds, stuntman Vic Armstrong, and associate producer Robert Watts.

The shoot was a learning experience for Spielberg, as he managed to film the movie on schedule. However, that doesn't really mean that the shoot was free from problems. Filming in Tunisia was unbearable, since it was very hot and the crew got sick from food poisoning, although Spielberg remained healthy by eating canned goods. 

After the success of the Star Wars films, Industrial Light & Magic became one of Hollywood's most reliable special effects companies. Under the supervision from Richard Edlund, and made during the pre digital age, ILM employed techniques such as miniatures, stop motion, blue screen, rotoscoped animation, cloud tanks, and matte paintings. 

The film's climax is a masterstroke in special effects, but it also caused trouble with the MPAA. Because there was a shot of a head blowing up, the MPAA threatened the film for an R rating. Because Spielberg aimed for a PG rated film that audiences of all ages would see, a flame effect was added to conceal the violence, so the R rating was prevented, thankfully.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is ILM's first non-Star Wars project, as well as Spielberg's first collaboration with ILM, and they have been creating special effects since.

Music and Sound Design

John Williams has given us memorable film scores over the years, and Raiders proves that Williams' past contributions were no flukes. His intention was to create music that was theatrical and excessive. To establish Indy's heroic adventures, Williams created two separated pieces of music for Spielberg, who thankfully used both, and that's how we got the iconic "Raiders March".

Sound designer Ben Burrt was hired to create unique sound effects for Raiders of the Lost Ark, very much like he did for his groundbreaking work on Star Wars. The sounds of the snakes protecting the Ark was achieved by Burrt recording sounds of his fingers running through cheese and mixing it with sounds of a wet sponge dragged across a grid tape.  The iconic sound of the rolling boulder that opens the film is actually a Honda Civic driving down gravel hill. The sound of Indy's pistol is a Winchester rifle and the sound of the punches and kicks were the sounds of baseball gloves. 

Legacy and Lasting Impact

Raiders of the Lost Ark finally opened in June 1981 after a somewhat rocky development process and has since become one of the most iconic movies ever made. After the successes of Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters, and Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark sent a signal to Hollywood that the big budget blockbusters are hear to stay.

Stay tuned for part 2, in which I will explain why Raiders of the Lost Ark is the kind of movie that Disney should have been making back in the 70s and early 80s.